Vacation Photos: Siargao 2017/2018

Happy New Year everyone! How was your holidays? I hope you had a good one.

I always love the holidays. Aside from we get to spend time with our families, I love this "downtime season" when there's no work, bed weather is on and there's plenty of free time to do the things you always wanted to (mine is to blog!).

For today, I'll be sharing a few photos and anecdotes from my solo trips to Siargao.

How do you choose the places you want to travel to? I remember being curious about Siargao Island. My interest was fueled more when I came across this blogpost and this.

Curious as I was, I ventured yet again into another solo travel.

As it turned out, my trip last August 2017 to Siargao will forever be one of my most memorable solo trips. It was so memorable that I went back last July 2018.

It's all true about what they say about this magic of an island and I hope it stays this way. It's a tiny island but packed with so much personality. The natural sceneries are a source of pride to call Philippines my motherland.

Currently, Siargao is fast becoming a famous tourist destination. There's a wealth of information and guides out there. But here are a few photos and suggestions if you'd like to see and read:

On where to stay: I stayed at Paglaom Hostel. It was, hands down, the best choice I made. Because of its humble and homey vibe, it attracts wonderful and humble souls as well. Best part: one of the cheapest options on the island!

On surfing: As we all might know, Siargao is famous for its waves and reef. If you're on the island, might as well try surfing. You might end up not loving it (quite tiring to paddle, must be patient to wait for the waves, you might feel you'll drown when you're wiped-out, etc.) but a must-try for sure!

I personally love it although I am bad at it (kook here!). Nothing compares to that adrenaline rush you feel when you are finally able to stand up on your board and just enjoy the ride.

       

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On where to eat: I've been told there's a lot of new restaurants sprouting all over Siargao at such a fast rate. The list of choices are ever-growing. But here are the ones I've tried personally: for breakfast try Shaka (a little pricey but hey, healthy), Aventino's (try the two-layered thin crust pizza) or Altrove, Harana for lunch or brunch, Bravo for afternoon cocktails (order their famous Pomada) and Kermit for dinner (pricey but worth it!).

Most hostels have a common kitchen so you can also try going to the market and make your own meals. Or you can try eating at local eateries for lunch and breakfast and then splurge a little for a fancy dinner. Personally, I always enjoy the family dinners at Paglaom Hostel. Any one may cook or prepare something to share for everyone. Nothing beats homemade meals!

   

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On things to do: On both times I was at Siargao, I spent 5-6 days. The pace on the island could be so slow. There's plenty of time to: sleep in the hammock, watch a movie (there's an island movie theater), wander on your own at the beach (Tuason Point is a favorite), read a book or simply engage in conversation with your hostel mates.

You can also:

• Run a marathon (yep, there's a Siargao International Marathon, you can check here).
• Bike around (I got injured trying to learn how to ride a motorbike, so I settled with bicycle instead).
• Touch a sea urchin and have a photo with it.
• Discover the secret cave in Magpupungko (which we did!)
• Volunteer at a recycling studio.

What made Siargao special were the people I had the pleasure to cross paths with. It did not feel like solo travel at all. They were strangers at first, then turned into island family. I do not want to sound cheesy or over-romantic because after all the vacation time, you will return to your daily grind. But those encounters, although brief, were somehow meaningful on its own. 

It was humbling to connect with other people from different countries/cities, exchange conversations and share experiences with them. Makes me think that we are all different but same.

Traveling is always a joyous human experience. <3

Have you been to Siargao? How was your experience? Did you travel solo or with a group?

I'd love to hear!

#SINGLEPORE 2016 PART 2

This is a two-month overdue continuation but let's not leave the storytelling hanging...longer! Haha.

After suggesting what to eat and where to stay at SG, here comes the hard part: coming up with suggestions of places to visit because simply, there are a lot of interesting places to check out at the Lion City. Google away and the internet will not run out of places to recommend.

But that is where the beauty of solo travel comes in. Everything on the itinerary is at your own discretion. You have free rein on what and what not to include, what day you want to do it, in what pace and you even have the very choice of ditching the whole itinerary and just go wherever your feet will take you.

My goal was to "slow travel" even if my solo jaunt was for only 4 nights and 3 days. To slow travel means not to cram so much everything on the itinerary just to tick off all the touristy places (which Singapore clearly does not lack).

No worry, no hurry. Sometimes we have this mentality to fit every "must-see" attraction on the schedule kasi sayang, andiyan ka na (you're already there) even if it ends up you rushing from one tourist place to another and leaving you burned out instead.

It's true that plane tickets could be expensive and for someone with a corporate job, VLs (vacation leave) could be hard to schedule and it only seems practical to make the most of your time while on a trip at somewhere far.

But hey, let's learn to live in the moment!

I wanted to travel, not tour.

I love how this travel couple puts it: to slow travel means "to choose experiences over sights – and more than anything else – quality over quantity".

As I've mentioned, there are tons of things to do at SG and it could get overwhelming especially for a wide-eyed first timer like me. With slow travel in mind, I decided to prioritize visiting the places that I think would truly catch my fancy.

What catches your fancy is very subjective. If we are talking about fancy here, then I fancy books!

Hence, my itinerary mostly included anywhere that has something to do for anyone who is a self-proclaimed bibliophile. Such places were BooksActually, National Library and even just the bookstore chain, Books Kinokuniya. If you think I went all the way to SG to see a book vending machine and read at the library then...you're right! Lol.

But of course the usual tourist spots were also on the list such as Chinatown, Haji Lane, Sultan Mosque, Supertree Grove, Singapore City Gallery, Merlion Statue at Marina Bay Sands, Orchard Road (on a Sunday!) and I highly recommend that you should make time and watch, the WonderFull Fountain Show at Marina Bay Sands Promenade, it was beyond amazing!

Best part, no entrance fees!

If you're the artsy type (or just the feeling-artsy-type like me) visit places like the burgeoning creative neighborhood of Tiong Bahru and Red Dot Design Museum at Maxwell Road.

I did not go to Universal Studios and decided to try activities at Sentosa Island other than the theme park-experience. From Vivo City Mall, I walked to Sentosa Island (thank goodness for walkalators!) rather than taking the Sentosa Express. Upon arriving, I looked for the free shuttle bus that drops you off your destination around the island.

I alighted off the bus at Siloso Beach then went to Fort Siloso Skywalk (which involved a little tiring trek up!). I was glad with this decision because I discovered other places instead of sticking to the typical touristy ones and best of all, yet again, everything was for free!!! The only time I took out cash while at Sentosa Island was to buy bottled water because it was so humid! #CheapskateForever #TipidHits Hahaha

A personal disclaimer though: aside from trying to stay true being a #ChicCheapskate, I genuinely like walking, trekking and papawis activities hence that's what I did while at Sentosa. That particular afternoon involved a lot of sweat so to speak! But if you ain't the type, don't heed this itinerary. Lol. Whatever floats your boat lang!

But other than the sight-seeing, what I recall most from this trip are the "in-between" moments such as:

• Meeting Ate Ethel at Davao Airport. She was going solo to Singapore too so we ended up chatting while waiting for our flight. Upon arriving at Changi, we took turns taking each other's photos (first time international travelers here!) I got to meet her friends who picked her up at the airport. That's why I didn't get lost looking for the train station at Changi. It's good to meet nice people along the way!

• Just walking around, exploring. I enjoyed wandering around Jalan Besar neighborhood and getting lost on the way to train station. Hahaha. I revel in the moments just observing my new surroundings and figuring out on my own where to turn next. And I also got to see other nooks and crannies of this Lion City, away from the tourist spots. I reminisce the feeling of waking up to a new city and feeling very eager to start the day because you know you have so much to discover and then only to come back to your hostel dead tired and feet aching. Hahaha. But of course, all worth it!

• Finally finding your "balance" while riding the SMRT. Lol I did not grow up with trains as the main means of transportation (it was sikad, tricycle and jeep) maybe that's why I really enjoyed commuting via the SMRT. It was easy to understand, on time, short interval waiting, basically everything that is not what Philippine mass transport is. As what I've mentioned, when you experience this kind of convenience, you can't help but wish for it to happen as well in your own homeland.

• Traveling a little North to Sengkang and "crashing" at Riza's place because the train stations were already closed. It was unplanned but traveling solo can afford me to make my itinerary free-flowing as possible. Though it was a brief stay, I got to see other parts of Singapore. I got to stay in a HDB and even just the plain task of buying breakfast at FairPrice was an experience itself for me. Live like a local, they say. I got to learn from Riza's stories what is life like in Singapore.

• Funny how coincidental things turned out. July's mom (who was visiting him for a week or two) was also on the same flight schedule back to Davao as I was. So on my last day, I joined the mother and son duo for a downtown stroll and after parting ways with July, me and Tita Lyra trooped together to the airport until to the flight back home. What a great timing!

Now in hindsight, I arrived at the decision to go on to SG despite with no company because I knew deep down slow solo travel was something I really wanted to do. I was curious and wanted to challenge myself and it feels amazing to make it happen. There's a sense of fulfillment in challenging yourself and finding out you can do it.

I repeat: YOU.CAN.DO.IT.

But I would be over-romanticizing to say that everything went smoothly. In the middle of  all the solo exploring, there would be times I berate myself and think this is really crazyyyy and of course, I did feel lonely at times. I had a few expectations that were not met. But that's what travel teaches you: learn how to manage your expectations. 

Yet I realized that my prime motivation for this trip was more than just the sight-seeing and picture-taking for Instagram's sake. It was more of getting out of my comfort zone and giving myself the opportunity to see the world and experience first hand how different (or how similar) other cultures are. The eye has to travel with a purpose.

Overcome your fears too! Sometimes we are conditioned to just stay right where we are. Some fears are irrational and sometimes born out from lack of trust to Our Big Guy up there.

What if something bad happens? What if my money's not enough? What if I end up just being terribly lonely?

All but WHAT IFS.

Get yourself out there! (***Cue in Moana song: How Far I'll Go***) Lol.

Phew! To end this, I will not encourage you to try solo travel because I know it's not for everyone. Some people will shake their heads and balk at the idea of it and I respect that. But what I encourage of you is to do that one thing you always say you wanted to do for the longest time. Go for your goal/s. Try things and see for yourself.

Whatever that one thing is, just do it!

Thank you for your time reading. :)